Happily Never After
by Carlet
Summary: A horrible attack leaves Cameron with something she'd hoped for but never dreamed would ever happen: a relationship with House. But what happens when they find out that their secrets could mean the end of it? Not your usual Hameron story, ends with a twist.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own House MD. End of story.**

Chapter 1

House limped painfully into the conference room, inhaling the smell of the fresh pot of coffee brewing in the corner. Dropping the file onto the table, he held out his left hand. As usual, his red mug, filled to the brim with coffee, slid into his hand. He took a sip, savoring the taste. Why couldn't anyone but Cameron get coffee to taste that good?

He threw back a Vicodin as his ducklings passed the file around, reading and noting the various symptoms listed inside. Popping the cap off a marker, he turned to face his subordinates.

"28 year old male, presented to the ER with aphasia and seizures." Foreman read from the file.

"Any history of epilepsy?" Cameron asked, sitting down at the table.

"No. His medical history is cleaner than mine." Chase noted, impressed.

"Considering you're British, that doesn't mean much." House interrupted rudely.

Chase opened his mouth to argue that he was Australian, not British, and then closed it when he saw the smirk on House's face.

"You, go give him an MRI to check for lesions." He pointed his marker at Chase. "And you two go check the house for toxins." He gestured at the other two. "I'll be in my office, hiding from Cuddy if anyone needs me."

* * *

A sharp knock on the door interrupted the episode of General Hospital House was currently immersed in. Looking up, he rolled his eyes at the sight of Cuddy, who gestured for him to open the door. He ignored her, but wasn't surprised when she just let herself in.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Cuddles? Come to give me a lap dance? I thought I told you that I just don't think of you that way." He paused his episode.

Cuddy ignored his rude comments. House noted that she looked sick and uncomfortable.

"Aw, don't be sad. I'm sure you'll find plenty of other men who'll enjoy your tits." He turned back to his episode, but Cuddy held the remote out of his reach.

"There's a gunshot victim coming in through ambulance." She announced, squeezing the back of a chair.

"Good for them." House grumbled. "Now go tell someone who cares." He made a reach for the remote, but Cuddy held it up higher.

"House. It's Cameron."

**Author's note: Thanks for reading. This is my first fanfic and yeah so please review. Another thing, this story may seem like any other Hameron story for a while but if you stick with me you'll see that it's really not. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own House MD. End of story, goodbye, the end. **

Chapter 2

Any sarcastic comment that House had started to form immediately dissolved.

"Foreman called from the ambulance. It sounded like they were attacked while searching some guy's home." She continued. It was obvious that she was trying to be gentle, but that gesture was lost on House. The words Cameron, attacked, and shot echoed continuously throughout his mind, blocking out all other noise.

Without knowing it, he was already halfway to the elevator, cane thumping loudly on the floor. He barely heard Cuddy shouting after him, running to keep up with his surprisingly fast pace.

They arrived in the ER just as the ambulance pulled in. The EMTs were lifting the gurney out while ER attendings were running around, calling for bags of A positive blood and a saline drip. Amidst all the chaos, House's eyes were drawn to Cameron's face. Her green eyes were filled with relief, as if just the mere sight of House was enough to calm her down.

He pushed his way to her side, shouting out that he was a doctor to anyone who dared to push him away, to keep him away from her.

"House." She murmured. "You're here."

"Hell of a way to make a dramatic entrance." He said gruffly, trying to hide the terror that threatened to spill out of his mind. He dimly noted that she was turning increasingly pale and blood was beginning to trickle out of her mouth. Not to mention the blood gushing out of the gunshot wound in her abdomen. Stupid fucking incompetent EMTs.

"Don't." She trembled. A blue tinge began to creep into her skin.

"Don't talk." He said. "You were shot."

"Leave me." Her voice was a mere whisper, and suddenly her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"Cameron!" He shouted. "Look at me!" _I can't lose you,_ he thought to himself.

Her eyes opened slowly. The normally hopeful green eyes were filled with pain and fear.

"Sleepy." She whispered. "Hurts everywhere."

"I know. Here, focus on me and breathe slowly." His eyes never left hers as she was wheeled away into the OR.

House was about to follow the gurney when a black figure caught his eye. Foreman. With a growl, he limped rapidly towards his subordinate.

"What the hell happened?" He snarled, cornering Foreman with his cane. "I send you to search some guy's house and Cameron gets shot?"

"I-"Foreman stuttered. He was rarely at a loss for words.

"The whole reason I sent you was because Chase is too stupid, and I thought you grew up stealing cars in dangerous neighborhoods." He snapped.

With some effort, Foreman pushed the cane off. "We were attacked just outside the house." He explained. For the first time, House noticed that he had a black eye and a sprained wrist. "They were trying to rob us. Pulled a gun out."

"No kidding." House scoffed.

Foreman glared at him. "They grabbed us. Cameron had a thing of pepper spray, and somehow managed to throw it into the face of the guy holding me. Except he was the one holding the gun, and he aimed blindly and shot her. I barely managed fighting off both of them and getting her here." He finished tiredly.

House nodded. Suddenly, he became dizzy. If it hadn't been Foreman's fault, then it was his. After all, he was the one who'd sent them out there in the first place. Quickly, he limped away. He needed to get out of the fucking ER and clear his head.

**Author's note: Again, thanks for reading and please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: By now, if I have to tell you that I don't own House MD, you clearly haven't been reading the previous chapters. **

Chapter 3

For the second time that day, House's feet seemed to know where to go before his head figured it out. He found himself on the roof.

_His fault_. Those words thumped loudly in his head. This had been his fault. If he hadn't sent them to search the house, they wouldn't have been attacked. And Cameron wouldn't be lying in the OR with a gunshot wound, fighting for her life right now.

He didn't even know why he cared so much. It was just Cameron. His female subordinate. Nothing more than that. Sure, she was hot. But so was every other nurse that worked in this damned hospital.

No, it had to be the knowing way that she looked at him. Like she could see through him, see through the walls he put up. Normally he was the one who stared at people that way, and it was unnerving to be on the other end.

Damn. Was he letting himself get soft? After all he'd said to her on their first (and only) date, he was sure he'd convinced himself that he didn't need her. He'd managed to tell himself that the only reason he couldn't get her out of his fucking head was because she was a mystery to him. An enigma. And nobody loved puzzles more than Gregory House.

But then why did he see her in his dreams every night? Why did he see her, with her soft brown hair and warm green eyes, and annoyingly sweet personality? She was nothing to him. Nothing but lobby art. Smart lobby art, but lobby art nonetheless.

"There you are." A breathless voice said from behind. It was Wilson.

"Don't you ever answer your pager?" Wilson panted as he came up to House. "Cameron's out of surgery."

House turned away, not wanting to betray any emotion. The last thing he needed was for Wilson to psychoanalyze him and claim that he was in love with Cameron. Because that was the opposite of the truth.

"Gee, what could I possibly find appealing about watching one of my subordinates lie in a hospital bed? I have the coma patient for that." He grumbled, swinging his cane around. "I've got some clinic hours to do." He knew that this was a lame excuse, since everyone with half a brain knew that Dr. Gregory House did not do clinic hours. But his TV had been destroyed in his hurry to get to the ER just mere hours earlier.

"You don't do clinic hours!" Wilson said, astonished. "Not unless you're trying to avoid something…"He said thoughtfully.

Oh no. Wilson was starting to figure it out. The next words that would come out of his mouth were going to be…

"Y-you care about her!" Wilson shouted, pointing a finger at his best friend. "That's what you're trying to avoid. You like her!" He accused.

House sighed. Great. He limped even faster away, trying to avoid the patches of ice everywhere.

"Don't walk away from me House!" Wilson caught up to him in a matter of steps. "You have to confront your feelings for her. You have to…" he was cut off by an angry House, who stopped short and turned around to face him.

"Shut up before I do something I'll regret." He snarled.

"Oh my God, you think this is your fault." Wilson grinned. "You like her, and you think that it was your fault she got shot." He cackled gleefully.

A wave of anger shot through House. "Yes because it _was _my fucking fault. If I hadn't sent her out there then nothing would have happened." He growled. "Now move. I have clinic patients to mock."

When House was sure that Wilson couldn't see him anymore, he ducked into the ICU, peeking through every glass door until he found Cameron.

_Great_. He muttered to himself. Foreman and Chase were sitting by her side, adjusting the IV and checking her vitals. Now he couldn't even go in without those two idiots questioning him.

Just looking at Cameron's bandaged body sent guilt rippling through him. What was happening to him? Gregory House did not feel guilt. He was known as the sarcastic, smarmy bastard who cared about no one. It was like he was turning into Cameron.

As soon as he was sure that Foreman and Chase had left, he limped into Cameron's room and plunked down into the chair left at her bedside. Cuddy had pulled some strings and gotten her a private room, for which he was grateful. He did not need snooping patients peeking in and asking questions.

His right hand found itself entwined in hers, and he was very surprised to discover that he did not want to let go.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: If any of you still don't know that I don't own House MD, do everyone a favor and get your head checked. **

Chapter 4

The next morning, House found himself at Cameron's bedside, his right hand in her left. He was momentarily disoriented, until the yesterday's events came rushing back at him. Dry swallowing a Vicodin, he stood up slowly, noting the aches in his back from sleeping in a chair all night.

Suddenly, he felt a slight flutter in his hand. Looking down, he saw that her eyes were open and blinking rapidly to adjust to the bright lights in the room.

"House?" Her voice was raspy, probably from the intubation from the surgery. "Where am I?"

"ICU." He answered. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I-I was with Foreman, at that patient's house. We were attacked." She coughed.

"Water?" House offered, slightly disgusted at his niceness.

She nodded, and House handed her the cup. Her hand shook, and House went automatically to help her, noting the slight tingle when his hand touched hers.

When she finished, he placed the cup back on the table. "How do you feel?" He asked. Again, he was disgusted at how nice he was being. It wasn't like he was known for his bedside manner.

"Sleepy. And it hurts." She murmured.

"You should go back to sleep then. And I'll get someone to up your morphine. Helps you heal faster."

She smiled gratefully and her eyes slipped closed. Once House was sure she was asleep, he stood up. Time to get the hell out of there. Just being with Cameron was stirring feelings buried deep inside him, feelings that he hadn't felt in years. And that was scaring him senseless.

**Author's note: Sorry that this chapter is shorter. Next one will be a lot longer. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Guess what. I still don't own House MD. **

Chapter 5 (a week later)

"Did you know that Cameron's being released today?" Wilson pushed open the door to House's office. House sighed impatiently and hit the pause button on his Gameboy.

"Yes. And did you know that I don't care?" He didn't even bother to look up.

"Riggghhtttt." Wilson dragged out the word. He plunked down into the chair opposite of House's. "Just like how you don't like her right?"

"Exactly." House answered.

"House, just admit that you like her." Wilson urged.

House slammed down his Gameboy, annoyed. "Why? Why is it so damn important to you that everyone around you gets a fairy tale ending? Is it because you have had more divorces than I can bother to count? Do you have a pathological need to manipulate everyone's lives?"

"I just want you to be happy." Wilson held up his hands in surrender. "But hey, if you want to live out the rest of your miserable life with your Gameboy and your Vicodin and whatever the hell you have so much fun doing by yourself, that's just fine with me." He stood up and started towards the door.

House tried to get back to his game, but Wilson's words continued to echo in his head, making it impossible to concentrate. He hit the power button and stood up painfully. Maybe if he paid Cameron a visit, it would help get rid of those feelings he'd worked so hard to suppress.

* * *

Ding Dong! The doorbell rang. Cameron looked up and sighed. By the time she got up to open the door, whoever it was would have left.

"Here, I got it." Foreman offered.

Cameron sank back into the couch, grateful. She could tell that Foreman still felt guilty about the attack. While it hadn't been his fault (in fact he saved her life), it was nice to have someone to wait on her.

She turned on the TV, trying to distract herself from the throbbing ache in her abdomen. While she had plenty of pain meds, she didn't want to become addicted to them.

The familiar step-thump sounded in the front hallway. That could only mean one person: House. Cameron immediately froze. What was House doing here? Sure, he'd been nice at the hospital, but that was probably because he didn't want Foreman or Chase making any rude comments.

She quickly tried to smooth down her unwashed brown locks and wipe off any sleep marks from her face. While House had seen her at her worst, it wouldn't hurt to freshen up a bit.

"House. What are you doing here?" She couldn't hide the surprise from her voice as her boss came limping into her living room.

"Can't a person care anymore? Or is it just your thing?" House quipped as he snooped around her living room. "Nice pictures you got there." He picked up a frame.

"Do you want me to kick him out?" Foreman came back into the room.

"No, it's fine." Cameron didn't take her eyes off House, who thumped over to her TV and started scrolling through the channels.

"If you're sure." Foreman checked his watch. "I have to get back to the hospital, but I'll be here in a flash if you need me." He picked up his jacket.

"Kay." She said absentmindedly.

Foreman nodded and strode out the door. The click of the shutting door sounded ominous. Great. Now she was stuck in her apartment. Alone. With House. Who would probably start insulting her like crazy.

"What are you really doing here?" She shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position on her couch without killing herself. While it was pretty comfy, it was definitely not meant for lying on.

"What, a person can't care?" He said sarcastically, picking up a figurine on her shelf. He looked at its bottom, probably searching for a price tag. Nosy bastard.

"Not you, no." She gave up and sank back against the couch with a groan. "You never visit patients unless there's something diagnostically interesting about them. And you know just as well as I do that there's nothing interesting about a gunshot."

"I just missed you." He fake pouted.

Cameron rolled her eyes. She normally loved House and his sarcasm, but today, combined with the increasing pain in her body, it was just plain annoying.

"I don't have time for this. I'm supposed to be sleeping. Just tell me why you're here." She said again.

House ignored her as he continued to snoop through her belongings.

Then, a thought dawned on Cameron. She knew that House only avoided something if it had to do with his feelings. Which meant that…?

"Oh my God. You like me." She said slowly. "That's why you're here. You feel guilty about what happened and so you're here to apologize."

House didn't answer, which confirmed her suspicions.

"You actually like me." She said again.

House shook his head forcefully. "No I don't. Nuh uh. Not one bit." He said stubbornly like a 6th grader trying to convince his friends that he didn't have a crush on someone.

"Yes." Cameron insisted. "You _never _go to see patients, not unless there's something interesting." She repeated. "And there's nothing interesting about me, which means that you're here because you…"

Her sentence was cut off by House, who'd crossed the room to the couch in two steps and pressed his lips against hers.

"Can you shut up?" He murmured.

"I will if you do that again." She answered, an excited tingle zipping down her spine. Nothing had ever felt more right in her life.

**Author's note: Told ya it was longer. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I have officially run out of clever ways to tell you that I don't own House MD.**

Chapter 6 (several days later)

Dating. Allison Cameron was dating Gregory House. Every time she said those words in her head, she shivered. It was unbelievable. If someone had told her a year ago that she would be dating House, she would have told them to get their meds checked. House did not do relationships. Ever.

Yet here he was, on her couch, with his arm around her, fully immersed in a rerun episode of General Hospital, a show that they now watched every night together. In fact, she'd started to DVR it every day. For the past few weeks, while she was bedridden (or rather couch ridden), House had come by her apartment everyday to bring lunch and new stories about Chase and Foreman's stupidity. According to House, they'd all started to drink Red Bull instead of coffee, since House claimed that Foreman and Chase's attempts at coffee making were less than subpar.

However, as wonderful as her life had become, she could not shake the feeling that something would eventually go wrong. This was House, after all. He was incapable of having normal, healthy relationships with other people.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Cameron groaned and snuggled closer to House. "You want to get that?"

"I'm the cripple here." He whined, throwing a cushion at her.

"Yeah, but it still hurts to walk." She fake pouted. "I'll make it up to you after." She said slyly.

House rolled his eyes. "You better." He stood up, leaning heavily on his cane. He step-thumped over to the door, where the knocking was getting more and more insistent. "All right all right, I'm coming. Quit your knocking. Jeez. I'm a cripple." He snapped as he thrusts open the door to reveal a breathless Foreman.

Foreman's shock at seeing House in Cameron's apartment was apparent, but he quickly swallowed back the million questions he had.

"Where's Cameron?" Foreman pushed past his boss and stepped into the living room, where Cameron was sitting on the couch, a confused expression on her face.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" She asked, muting the TV. "If it's an urgent case, it can wait till tomorrow. Besides, I'm still on leave technically."

Foreman ignored her as he held up the newspaper that was clenched in his fist. "Here. Read this."

One look at the urgent look on Foreman's face and Cameron knew that this was serious. "What's going on?"

"Just read it." He urged. Without further hesitation, Cameron grabbed the paper from his sweaty grip and started to scan the page.

As House limped slowly back into the living room, he could instantly sense that something was wrong. The cozy mood from earlier had evaporated, and had been replaced by tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

One look at the paper clenched in Cameron's fist, the grim look on Foreman's face, and the tears threatening to spill out of her green eyes told House that it had to do with the attack.

"What happened?" House asked his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

The mere sound of House's voice was enough to make Cameron start hyperventilating. Immediately, House sat on the couch next to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her thin body trembling.

"Cameron. Breathe." He said slowly, making sure she heard through her sobs. She ignored him and continued to sob loudly.

He sighed. This was why he didn't deal with patients. But this was Cameron. He couldn't help but feel responsible for her pain, and so it was his duty to alleviate some of it.

"Come on. Just don't think about it. I need you to breathe." He repeated loudly. The last thing anyone needed was for her to rip her stitches.

But she couldn't push it out of her mind anymore. That's what she had been doing for almost two weeks, and now she couldn't stop the memories from rushing back. She remembered crawling out of the window of that house, Foreman just behind. She remembered noting how creepy the neighborhood seemed, like it was teeming with infections and disease and crime.

Walking down the driveway, not being able to shake the feeling that someone was watching. Hearing the words "scream and you're dead bitch". She remembered the bone chilling terror that gripped her as she heard the click of the gun. Hearing the sharp intake of Foreman's breath as he assessed their hopeless situation. There had been no one around. No one to hear or see anything that was about to happen.

She remembered the feeling of the two men surrounding her and Foreman. The nasty breath on her shoulder as one of the men grabbed her, aiming his knife at her neck. The cool sides of the pepper spray can as she deftly lifted it out of her purse. The thought that maybe if she threw it at Foreman's assailant, he would be able to escape and get help. The adrenaline rush as she swiftly threw the contents of the can at Foreman's captor. The chaos and confusion that quickly followed. The tears that gushed out of Foreman's assailant's eyes. The sound of a fist when Cameron's captor punched Foreman's face. The loud bang of the gun when Foreman's assailant blindly shot.

The white hot pain that started in her abdomen and steadily grew. The sounds of footsteps running away. She remembered falling backwards onto the pavement, feeling the blood gushing out. She'd known that she was going to die. They were miles from the nearest hospital.

More footsteps and she'd felt Foreman's fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse. His voice, urging her to stay awake. The dial tone of his cell phone and his panicked voice as he called 911. The wail of an ambulance. There were noises and lights, the sound of Foreman's voice attempting to calm her down and keep her awake, a flash of House's voice and his gruff voice, and then nothing.

"They caught those bastards." Foreman explained, interrupting Cameron's flow of memories. "The article explained that they attacked two other women not far from here. Raped and killed them. Must have left evidence behind, because they were caught soon after." He continued.

Cameron began hyperventilating again as she imagined herself in the position of the two women that were killed.

"I need you to calm down." House said, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "It's going to be ok." He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard her breathing ease up, and sobs quiet. "Good."

Foreman cleared his throat. It was obvious that he was feeling uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah, so the DA called me and said that they confessed to everything, so it's basically an open and shut case. So we don't have to worry about it anymore."

Cameron nodded. "Kay. Thanks for stopping by and telling me. Would have been a lot worse to see it in the paper tomorrow."

Foreman headed towards the door. "Yep." Then, still seeing her tear streaked face, he paused. "Do you want me to stay or anything? I can't imagine that House would be any good company."

House gasped in a fake offended way. "Well that hurt my feelings." He whined like a 6 year old.

"No it's fine." Cameron smiled wanly.

Foreman nodded and walked out of the room, House step-thumping behind him to close the door. When Foreman was sure Cameron was out of earshot, he quickly cornered House by the door.

"Look, Cameron's like my little sister, so listen carefully. If you ever hurt her, I will personally see to it that your life becomes your personal hell." He warned.

House rolled his eyes. "Keep your pants on, brother. I won't do nuthin' except, ya know, have a little fun with her." He winked and practically shoved Foreman out the door.

He step-thumped back into the living room where Cameron was curled up on the couch, flipping through the channels.

"How long does it take to close a door?" She asked, amused.

"Oh well you know Foreman. Can't leave a place without trying to rob it." He quipped as he sat down and draped an arm over her shoulder. He smiled as she snuggled into him and fell asleep to the end credits of General Hospital.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Seriously. I'm not going to say again that I don't own House MD**

Chapter 7

It was just another Monday at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Chase was sipping a Red Bull, something the team had become accustomed to after Cameron's attack, and Foreman was sitting at the table reading a medical journal. All was normal, except for the fact that it was the day Cameron was due back at work, but it was already 10:30 and she wasn't back yet.

"What do you think's taking Cameron so long?" Chase wondered aloud as he sipped his Red Bull, and then grimaced at the taste.

"Don't know." Foreman said casually, turning a page. He, of course, knew exactly why she wasn't here yet. "Maybe she had a last minute house call." He hid a smirk behind his journal.

"What? I thought Cuddy gave her the ok to come back to work." The Australian was, of course, unaware of everything.

Foreman snorted. It was so funny how Chase never knew anything.

Chase stared at Foreman. "What's wrong with you?"

"Too many Red Bulls." Foreman answered.

Chase ignored him. "And why do you think House is so late? He's never this late." He sounded like a six year old whose mommy had forgotten to pick him up at school.

Foreman rolled his eyes. "What's the big deal? Just enjoy the fact that we don't have to put up with House."

Just then, they heard a familiar step-thump at the door. "Miss me?" House came limping through the door, Cameron just behind.

Chase widened at their entwined hands, but said nothing. He didn't want to be subjected to any sarcastic comments from his grumpy boss.

"Hey." Foreman stood up to hug Cameron, while Chase sat there and tried to mask his shock and jealousy.

While Foreman and Chase grabbed copies of the file House brought in, Cameron hurried over to the coffee maker. By the layer of dust covering it and the sheer number of empty Red Bull cans strewn around the office, it was overwhelmingly clear that no one had touched the coffee maker in the last three weeks.

"Thank God you're back. Chase's idea of coffee is more like liquid sludge." House was, as usual, being melodramatic.

Chase rolled his eyes and started reading out from the file. "14 year old female, presented to the ER with a fever, bruises, and fatigue."

While House wrote the symptoms on the board, Cameron sat down at the table with a steaming cup of coffee and started to read the file.

"Could just be the flu." Chase suggested.

"No, she's been on flu meds for the past month." Foreman commented. "Looks like she's been complaining of joint pain and weight loss recently."

"Leukemia?" Cameron said.

House nodded. "Go get a blood test to confirm, and if that comes back abnormal, go get a bone marrow biopsy." He step-thumped towards his office. "I'll be in my office with my TV, away from you idiots and this boring case."

The team hurried out. Nobody mentioned that, for the first time in months, House had not ordered them to search the patient's home.

* * *

"Tests came back positive for leukemia." House's subordinates came bustling into the office two hours later, interrupting the episode of General Hospital that House was currently immersed in.

"Great. Then why are you still here?" He snapped, annoyed that he'd been interrupted again. "Go start treatment and leave me alone."

"That's the problem." Foreman said. "We can't start treatment."

"And why not? Oh, dear God, please don't tell me she's suicidal. Cause that would not be fun." House reached the remote. "Go start chemo and get her a psych referral."

"It's not that." Chase cut in. "We can't start treatment because she's a minor."

"Well then, go call her parents. Done." House snapped, turning on the TV again. "Are you idiots seriously still here?"

"We can't do that." Foreman grabbed the remote and held it out of reach. "All the phone numbers she's listed are out of service, and the address she gave was a fake."

"Interesting." House commented. "Cameron, go browbeat her into telling us the truth. And make sure she knows that she's going to die if she doesn't tell us who her parents are."

Cameron looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I'd rather Chase or Foreman…" She was cut off by an annoyed House.

"I asked you. Go." He grabbed his remote back from Foreman and turned on the TV again. While he felt slightly guilty at the harsh tone he'd used and Cameron's hurt look, both he and Cameron had agreed to act professional at work. And to House, professional meant rude and abrasive.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Yep. You guessed it. I don't own House MD. **

Chapter 8

An hour later, Cameron came into the conference room, looking sick and exhausted. Chase and Foreman, who had been sitting at the table doing nothing, looked up curiously.

"Did you find out who the parents are?" Foreman asked.

"I bet they're famous." Chase mused as he got up to refill his cup of coffee. "That's probably why she couldn't give their numbers."

"Well? Did you find anything?" Foreman pressed.

Just then, House came limping out of his office. "So, did you make the girl cry and confess?"

Cameron nodded. Her face was pale and drawn.

"Great. Want to share that with the class?" House threw back a Vicodin. "Remember, secrets are not allowed in Dr. House's house of fun." He snickered. "Wow that sounded weird."

"She's a foster kid." Cameron muttered.

"It took you that long to figure it out? Methinks you're losing your touch." House mocked.

"Great." Chase stood up. "We can just go and call them…"

"You can't." Cameron interrupted. She sighed. "She ran away from them because they were abusive, and she refused to let anyone call them."

"Then call Social Services and let them take care of it." House popped another Vicodin. "Problem solved."

Foreman nodded. "I'll go tell Cuddy."

"It's not that simple." Cameron argued. "If you call Social Services then she'll be sent back to her abusive foster parents, who'll punish her for running away and making them look bad. And she definitely won't get the treatment she needs."

"We can't just let her stay here forever." Chase pointed out. "Cuddy'll find out sooner or later and she'll definitely call Social Services and probably fry our asses for keeping it from her."

"But if she goes back she'll get sicker." Cameron replied. "I say we just give her the treatment she needs and let her go."

"She's a runaway." Foreman said. "And she's 14."

"That's better than her going back!" Cameron screeched. She blushed and looked down as she realized that everyone was staring at her like she was nuts.

"Why do you care so much?" House spoke up suddenly. "It's a new level, even for you." He started to pace around the conference room. "It's like you're turning into me." He observed.

Cameron didn't say anything, but glared angrily at the wall.

"And how do you know so much about the foster system?" House continued. "It's not like Little Miss I'm so perfect Allison Cameron would_ ever _have to deal with something so horrible. I mean, God forbid that anything in your life is not perfect. " He stopped in front of Cameron and raised his eyebrows knowingly.

He didn't know why he was grilling her like this, but it was part of his thing. He prided himself on being able to read people, yet Cameron was such an enigma. And it bugged him to no end.

There was a shout of surprise as Cameron slapped House. "Excuse me. I have to go get some air." She stomped angrily out of the office, her voice making it clear that she was alarmingly close to tears.

Foreman and Chase looked at each other in disbelief. "What's gotten into her?"

"Probably PMS." Chase snickered.

"Or the pain meds." Foreman reached for his cup of coffee.

"Should we go find her?" Chase asked, concerned.

"I'll go." House said quietly from his spot in the corner of the conference room. There was a note of guilt in his voice. With that, he pushed open the glass doors and limped out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: If I owned House MD, this story would actually be in an episode. Too bad. **

Chapter 9

Because House had driven Cameron to work in his motorcycle, he knew that she couldn't have gone home or to her car to mope. That only left one place. The roof.

Sure enough, there was Cameron, huddled in a ball, her long brown locks flying everywhere in the wind. She was looking out at the view, a pensive yet sad look on her face.

Instead of making a rude comment like he usually would, House limped quietly over to where Cameron was and sat down next to her, placing an arm around her shoulders. He felt Cameron jerk away from him.

"Want to tell me why you freaked out Cuddy style back there?" He joked, trying to lighten the mood. When she didn't answer, he sighed and decided to take a different approach.

"You know, it _really _hurt earlier. You'll have to make it up to me later." He said suggestively.

"Sorry." Cameron muttered.

"So, that was really unlike you back there." House was glad he'd finally gotten her to say something. "You want to tell me what that was about?"

"Why do you feel the need to press and press us about our personal lives until we crack? It's not like you give a damn about us anyway." Cameron snapped.

"Wrong. It's not like I care about the Dark One and Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. But I do care about youuuu." He fake pouted like a little kid. "Come on, just tell me." When it was obvious that Cameron was still keeping quiet, he knew it would have to take a more extreme approach. "Secret for a secret?"

Cameron was intrigued. The elusive Gregory House never offered anything, and it would be a good opportunity to get to know her boss turned boyfriend a little better. "Fine. But you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Don't worry. I'm really good with secrets. I've never told anyone that Wilson wets his pants." He said with an evil smile. "Oops."

"When I was a baby, I was abandoned by my parents. Found on the side of the highway and taken to the nearest orphanage, where I grew up in the foster system. Bounced around from foster home to foster home from when I was 3 to 14." Cameron paused, trying to stem the flow of tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

House didn't say anything, for which Cameron was grateful. For once he was not being rude. She continued. "When I was 14…" She choked back tears.

"What happened?"

"I was sent to this foster home in Arizona. Hell on earth. Worst home. I don't even want to talk about the unspeakable horrors." She sniffled. "I ran away after about a month. I had some money saved up from various jobs, so I took a bus to Chicago. Got a job, eventually found an apartment, and saved up enough to go to med school."

House was stunned into silence. He'd thought he'd known everything there was to know about Cameron's life, yet he had no idea how wrong he was. Who the hell dumped a baby on the side of the highway? At least his ex had the decency to…never mind. It wasn't the time to think about that.

"So don't you dare try and say that my life is perfect, because that's the opposite of the truth." She finished. All the traces of anger in her voice had vanished and had been replaced by pure sadness. "All I want to do is to help this girl. I know what it's like to be abandoned and not loved. I know what she's going through, and the hell she'll have to face if she goes back."

House nodded. "Then we'll find a way to keep this from Cuddy and get her the treatment she needs. Hell, keeping things from Cuddy is my specialty."

Cameron laughed. It was such a nice sound, especially after her sad story. "So what's your secret?"

House paused. It was one thing to make a deal and another to actually have to go through with it. "Uh…"

"Come on." Cameron poked him in the side. "I told you mine, now you have to tell me yours. And don't think about trying to run away. I can outrun you."

_Damn it_ thought House. _There goes that plan._ But if there was anyone he could trust with his secret, it was Cameron.

"When I was 19, I was just as charming and handsome as I am now, if not more." House joked. What he was about to divulge was terribly sad, and he hoped a couple jokes thrown in every now and then would ease the tension.

"So, because I was so terribly attractive, I had many women parading through the apartment I shared with a friend from college. A different woman every night. You know how it is." He said, trying to gauge Cameron's reaction. To her credit, she didn't seem fazed by it.

"One morning, I woke up. Had a wicked hangover. It had just been finals, and we were out celebrating. I heard a knock on the door so I went to go see who it was and chew them out for waking me up at the ass crack of dawn. When I opened the door, I saw no one. Nothing, save for a baby. A baby girl, wrapped in a pink blanket on my doorstep." He continued. "So I looked around to see who the hell just leaves a baby lying on someone's door, when I saw the note."

"What did the note say?" Cameron asked, curious. She was pretty sure what the baby meant already but she just wanted to make sure.

"Greg, this is your baby, thanks to that night back in September. I can't take care of her, so she's all yours." House recited. From the way he'd said it, it was clear that he'd memorized the note.

"What'd you do with the baby?"

"What could I have done? I was a college student, and at 19. I couldn't have taken care of a baby. If I took her home, I would have been subjected to lectures about irresponsibility." House said his tone hard. "I dropped her off at an orphanage two states away. Never got to name her or anything," he finished, his voice full of remorse.

"It wasn't your fault." Cameron said soothingly. "You couldn't have known…"

"Known that the foster care system was hell? Yes I did. And did I care? No. I just dropped her off. Never once did I think about the fact that she might have needed her parents growing up. I could have taken care of her somehow, maybe tracked down the mother. But I didn't. And now she's out there somewhere, probably suffering just like you did and just like our patient."

Cameron snuggled closer into him. "I guess we're both damaged."

"Yeah. A perfect pair." He said wryly.

They sat huddled together, watching the city, ruminating in their sad histories and the fact that they had each other now.

**Author's note: although this does kind of sound like the perfect ending, I assure you that is is NOT the ending. There is much more yet to come...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Yes its a shorter chapter, mostly a filler leading up to the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: There's something seriously wrong with you if you don't know that I don't own House MD**

Chapter 10

Cameron studied House's face as they slowly made their way to the parking lot. Now that she knew House's story, it was overwhelmingly obvious why he seemed so sad all the time. Why he seemed to have a particular softness for younger patients. And why she'd been so attracted to him since her first day at PPTH. It wasn't just because he was smart. It was because he was damaged, just like she was. It was like she'd subconsciously known this, known that they could help each other.

House was quieter than usual. That night, just like they'd become accustomed to after the attack, he'd stayed over at her place. Something about her cooking being better, but Cameron now knew that he hated being alone, where he would be haunted by memories of the daughter he'd given up so many years ago. No wonder he took so many Vicodin. It was too dull the pain he suffered from, both physical and emotional.

"Why don't you try and find her?" Cameron suggested later that night. After a quiet night of General Hospital, they were now snuggled in bed together. She was grateful for the darkness. It would provide a cover for her emotions if House got too angry and started snapping at her.

There was a long pause. Cameron grew more and more nervous. Maybe it was too soon to start pushing him like that.

"Why would I do that?" House asked.

"Because it's obvious that you still feel guilty. And maybe if you find her, you'll see that she's ok and you can move on." She said.

Another long pause.

"Even if I wanted to, how would I do that? I don't even know what her name is." House said. Cameron smiled to herself. Breakthrough! She'd gotten through to him.

"But we can go back to the orphanage and maybe track her down."

"How do you even know she's ok?" House turned to face her. "What if she's suffering and blames me for it and makes me feel even worse?"

"True." Cameron said. "But I turned out ok, and I was abandoned just like she was. Chances are, her life will be perfectly fine and you'll get to know your daughter."

"I'm not exactly a people person." He pointed out. "But you're not going to let this go until I say yes, are you?"

"Nope." Cameron grinned. She knew she had him.

"Fine." He said, resigned. "But you're driving."

**Author's note: Sooo anyone dying to find out what happens at the orphanage? Next chapter will be up very soon. And if anyone already has guesses about what the twist is, please keep it to yourself. You are welcome to message me with guesses though. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: If you don't know that I don't own House MD, you don't deserve to read my story. **

Chapter 11

Saturday morning was bright and clear. The air had a hopeful feel to it. _Yes, it was definitely the perfect day to go and hunt for House's long lost daughter_, Cameron mused as she walked towards her car. They'd agreed that it would be more practical than driving House's motorcycle.

Even House, for once, was in a good mood. On the drive over to the orphanage in Ohio, he even turned on music and started singing along cheerfully. Cameron also noticed that he had been taking less Vicodin and was even nicer to Foreman and Chase ever since they'd confessed their secrets on Monday.

She smiled to herself. While it was slightly unnerving that House was being normal, it was also nice that she was having such a positive effect on House.

However, as they got closer to the address House had typed into the GPS, it became very clear that House was actually very nervous. From the way he constantly shifted in his seat to the rhythmic tapping of his cane on the floor, Cameron could tell that the anxiousness he'd fought to hide all week was coming back.

"Calm down." Cameron said soothingly. "It's going to be ok." She used the comforting voice that she often used with dying patients. However, this did not have the same effect on House.

"You know that your overly caring voice doesn't work. It just makes me nauseated." House quipped as he reached up to turn up the radio. But Cameron noticed that he stopped his fidgeting.

* * *

After what seemed like the longest drive ever, they finally reached the orphanage that House had dropped off his infant daughter all those years ago.

Cameron squinted up at the nondescript gray building. Although the fading sign at the front read: Tender Hugs Home for Children: America's No 1 Children's Home since 1935, the dismal surroundings clearly suggested otherwise.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" She checked the address on the GPS. It looked even worse than the orphanage she'd briefly lived in when she was 7.

"Yep." House limped towards the front door, which was covered in peeling blue paint and looked like it was going to fall over.

"Wow." Suddenly, House's guilt made a lot more sense to Cameron. This placed looked like hell.

They entered the dank, dreary building. The inside was just as miserable as the outside, if not more. While they waited at the front desk, they studied their surroundings. The urine colored walls were covered with photos of the house's inhabitants. None of the children looked very happy to be there.

Suddenly, looking at the drawings hung on the walls and the musty furniture everywhere, Cameron got a strange déjà vu feeling. It was as if she'd been here before; the place looked very familiar. She shook her head. She was probably just tired from the long drive. Besides, a lot of orphanages looked the same.

"Can I help you?" Asked the bored looking lady at the front desk. She was extremely obese and had vomit down the front of her shirt and was struggling to keep apart two fighting kids.

"Nice shirt you got there." House snickered. "You should really know by now that bulimia is not the solution. I think you should really consider that lap band surgery." He said although it was very obvious that the vomit had come from one of the sick looking kids in the corner.

Instantly, the lady's face turned dark purple. "Listen, mister. I do not have time to deal with the likes of you. I've got a whole building full of kids to take care of." She snapped.

Cameron sighed. At this rate they were never going to find House's daughter. She quickly pushed House aside and stepped up to the desk, a wide smile on her face.

"Sorry about him. He's just a little tired." She said apologetically. "We're here to find his daughter. He dropped her off about 30 years ago."

The lady scoffed. "M'am, it would be a miracle if we could find some of the kids who still live here. There's no way we'd be able to find her. Sorry." She smiled unsympathetically.

House looked like he was about to thrash his cane in that lady's face, but Cameron held up her hand. "Wait. It's just that, Diane." She said, reading the lady's name off her nametag. "We've traveled very far to come here, and it would be wonderful if you could help us."

Diane rolled her eyes. "Lady that charm might work on some poor old geezer." She jabbed her thumb in House's direction. "But it doesn't work on me. Next!"

"Wait!" Cameron said. She tried to make herself sound desperate. "Please, Diane. He dropped his daughter off 30 years ago and ever since then he's been feeling just _so _guilty about that. We would be _so_ grateful if you could at least look it up for us. That's all I'm asking for." She added a pleading note to her voice.

Diane sighed. She knew that she'd never be left alone if she didn't help them. "Fine. Follow me." She led them down a dark hallway to the back office, where an ancient looking computer sat on a chipped desk.

"If there's any information about your daughter, it's going to be on here." She grunted as she turned the computer on. "Used to keep all the records on that shelf over there." She gestured at a shabby looking shelf behind the desk. "But then we got this fancy new computer here. Scanned everything in myself."

After what seemed like an eternity, Diane was finally able to pull up the record. "What date did you drop her off on?" She asked.

"May 17, 1981." House answered.

_That's funny_ Cameron thought. _My birthday's on May 15, 1981. Sounds like House's daughter and I are about the same age_. She snickered at this ridiculousness.

"1981, 1981." Diane muttered to herself as she searched on the computer. "Hmm…" She frowned. "Ah! Here it is! On May 17, 1981 a baby girl was brought in. Wrapped in a pink blanket. Brown hair, green eyes. Sound familiar?"

"Yep. That's her." House nodded. "Do you have any info about what happened to her?"

"Hmm…looks like she was never given a name for quite a while." Diane said. "Makes it harder to track. But we give every child a number here. Looks like she was given the number 358. So all I have to do is search up Child # 358." She typed in some numbers and squinted at the computer screen. "Found it. Your daughter stayed here until she was about 3, until she was taken to a foster home in Michigan. She lived there for about 4 years, and returned here in 1989. Then a year later, in 1990, she was taken to another foster home in Idaho. After that we don't have any more records."

House looked like he was about to browbeat her into submission, but Cameron quickly stopped him. "Thank you very much, Diane. You have no idea how grateful we are."

Diane nodded. "I hope you find her." She grabbed a piece of paper from the printer. "Here is the contact information from the last foster home she stayed in, the one in Idaho. Maybe they'll have more info about what happened."

After Cameron thanked her again, House and Cameron made their way back to the car, the piece of paper given to them tightly clutched in House's fist. He was unusually quiet on the drive back, a resigned look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Cameron asked, sneaking a look at her boss/boyfriend out of the corner of her eye. "We got plenty of info about her."

"Did you see that awful place?" House muttered. "I can't believe I left her there."

"Hey. It's not your fault." Cameron said gently, shocked at this rare show of emotion from House. "You were 19, not thinking straight, probably still coming out of that hangover. You did the right thing by bringing her there. You could have dumped her into a trash can or worse, but you didn't. You brought her to an admittedly shitty place, but at least she was taken care of, somewhat."

"Yeah." House said. "At least she was taken care of." He faced the window, his face guarded. "I'm going to find her, no matter what. I owe her that much."

**Author's note: If anyone has guesses about what the twist is, please keep it to yourself. You are, however, welcome to message me with guesses. As usual, all reviews are appreciated and welcomed**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Yes, that includes House MD. **

Chapter 12

Despite constant berating and pleading from House, Cuddy refused to give them more vacation time to look for his daughter. That meant that House was limited to making phone calls and searching on the Internet while his employees ran tests, instead of being able to travel to the various foster homes Diane had listed off.

"52 year old male presented to the ER with a gigantic swollen tongue, enlarged lymph nodes, and a high fever." Foreman read out from the case file that Cuddy had basically forced him to take. Instead of being in the conference room like usual, the team was huddled in House's office. The second House and Cameron arrived at work; House had sat down in front of his computer and refused to move.

There was a long silence. Usually, House filled this silence by mocking his team and ordering them to do tests. However, today he was fully immersed with his computer, twirling his cane with a pensive look on his face.

"House?" Chase said cautiously. The last thing anybody needed was for their temperamental boss to blow up in their faces. "What are we supposed to do?"

House ignored them.

"House!" Foreman slammed his palm on the table. "This is the part where you make fun of us and then tell us what to do."

"Go test for, whatever." He waved his hand vaguely. "You're all doctors. Act like it."

Foreman and Chase rolled their eyes as they pushed open the glass doors and stepped into the hallway, Cameron just behind.

"What's gotten into him?" Chase muttered as he pressed the button on the elevator.

"Don't know." Foreman answered. "Been like that all morning." He turned to Cameron. "You're his girlfriend." He felt Chase stiffen at the word girlfriend. "What's up with him?"

"No idea." Of course, Cameron knew exactly what House was doing, but it wasn't like she could tell them that he was looking for his long lost daughter. They'd never believe her, and even if they did House would kill her.

"Whatever." Foreman said. "Chase, you go do the blood work, I'll go talk to the family, and Cameron can get a more detailed patient history."

"Who died and made you boss?" Chase grumbled as the elevator doors opened.

"Correction. Not died. Just fell into a sitting coma in front of a computer." Foreman replied as he stepped into the elevator.

* * *

House cursed as he came to another dead end. Why was it so damn hard to find her? After about an hour, all he had learned was that most of the phone numbers Diane had given him were disconnected.

_Why didn't I name her_? He thought to himself. That would have made this search process a whole lot easier. Hell, it would have been downright easy. There were many websites dedicated to finding someone. All it required was their name.

Suddenly, he had an epiphany. Why do all the work himself? With a grin, he picked up his phone and dialed Lucas, his old PI who'd come in very handy when he was hiring his team and wanted to dig up any dirt on them. (Surprisingly, however, Lucas had failed to find Cameron's foster life)

Within seconds, he was explaining to Lucas about how he needed to find his daughter. Well, he told him that she was just some random girl he needed to find. If he'd said that it was his daughter then it would raise too many questions.

"Yeah, so just find out whatever you can about her. Where she went after that last address in Idaho, what her name is, etc." He hung up, feeling very satisfied. Lucas was very good at finding people. It would only be a matter of time until he found his daughter.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own House MD. Instead of wasting time arguing with me, just read my damned story.**

Chapter 13

The week passed by in a blur. Every day the team would continue to supervise themselves and run tests, while House sat in his office, willing his phone to ring with Lucas's call. But every day for about a week, the phone was silent. Silent, still, and silently mocking him.

Until a week later. That day, as usual, House sat in his office, glared at his phone, and twirled his cane. Same old, same old. Even Cuddy hadn't bothered to bug him about not actually doing anything, since his team was still getting work done. In fact, they were even more productive than usual because House wasn't wasting time with metaphors or insults.

When the phone rang, the team was, luckily, out running tests. _Good_ thought House. It would reduce the chances of his subordinates asking questions.

"Do you have the info?" He said in lieu of hello.

"Wow, someone's impatient." Came Lucas's voice over the phone. "What's she to you anyway? A special hooker?"

"Yeah, something like that." House answered impatiently. "Do you have the info or not?"

"I sure do." Lucas answered. "You owe me big time, cause I found a lot and it sure took me a long time."

"Whatever. Just tell me what you found."

"All right, all right. Jeez." There was a sound of rustling papers. "Ok, so she went to an Idaho foster home in 1990. I managed to track down those foster parents, which was no easy feat by the way. They told me that she stayed there for about a year, till 1991, and then went to an orphanage in Arizona. Stayed in Tucson in a foster home till 1995. But after about a month or two, she disappeared. Until 1999, when she went to UPenn. No idea how she managed to do that. And after that, grad school, and yeah that's pretty much it."

"What happened after grad school?"

"Got a job in, uh, Jersey. So looks like she could be pretty close." Lucas commented.

"Anything else?" House asked.

"No, that's about it…wait. So I figured out what her name is. Or rather, names." Lucas said. There was more rustling of papers. "From 1981 to 1995, her name was Emma Dumont. And from 1995 to present, her name is…oh man you're not going to believe this." Lucas chuckled. "Oh wow."

"Just tell me." House snapped impatiently. He had a team to mock and episodes to watch. He didn't have time for this.

When Lucas told him the name, House's heart dropped down to his feet. No. Fucking. Way.

**Author's note: Yes, its a shorter chapter but thats cuz I have school and a life.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: You know what I don't own. **

Chapter 14

"Great. So we can probably just start treatment for her." Foreman said as they pushed open the glass doors to the conference room.

When the team entered the room, there was a collective gasp. The table was overturned, the chairs knocked everywhere, coffee maker smashed, coffee beans everywhere, books crumpled and strewn about, and there was a computer sized hole in the window.

"Holy mother what happened here?" Chase looked around in amazement. "Looks like House went off his rocker."

Sure enough, House sat in his office, which was also smashed to bits, nursing a bottle of vodka and bandaging a bleeding fist. By the huge dent in the wall, it was obvious that he'd smashed his fist into the wall.

"What did you do?" Foreman's voice was full of disgust. "This place looks like shit."

"House? Are you ok?" Cameron asked, her voice full of concern. While House had been slightly quieter than usual all week, this was a new low.

"Fuck off." House muttered, staring out the window and taking a big swig out of his bottle. When nobody moved, he threw an empty bottle at them, narrowly missing Chase's head. "I said fuck off!" He screeched.

Without another word, his subordinates hurried out of the office. Nobody wanted to get beaten up.

"What's wrong with him?" Chase muttered as he walked towards the elevator.

"No clue, but I think I'm going to use this as a reason to go home early." Foreman said gleefully as he pulled on his coat. He cast a sympathetic look at Cameron. "Have fun cleaning that up."

Her coworkers threw looks of commiseration over their shoulders as they stepped into the elevator. Cameron sank against the wall and sighed. What was wrong with House?

* * *

_How did I not know? _House wondered to himself. _How. The. Fuck. Did. I. Not. Fucking. Know?_ He sighed and slammed his fist in the wall again. It started to bleed again, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain he felt in his heart.

He should have seen it coming. There were so many signs. Really, it was very obvious. Anyone would have seen it and pointed it out long ago. He had been blinded. Too blinded by his happiness. And now it had come to a crashing stop.

He had to fix this. Although it made his heart constrict and his body fill with pain, he knew what had to be done. What he had to do.

**Author's note: Yep, another shorter chapter. Mostly just a filler with House's reaction to, well you'll see in the next chapter. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: By now, you should really know what I do and do not own. **

Chapter 15

Luckily, Cameron had driven herself to work that morning. After the huge mess House had made in the office, she figured he would want some space. So, she left work early as well.

On the drive home, she wondered what had gotten into House. She knew that he had been very worried about finding his daughter. But he'd told her that he had Lucas, one of the best PIs in the country, on the search for her. So there really wasn't anything to stress about.

Maybe he'd found out something really disturbing about his daughter. Or maybe she was dead. _Yes_. Cameron thought. _That's probably what it is._ _Whatever it is, we can work through it. _

He'd helped her through her recovery. And now it was her turn to help him.

* * *

When House got home (and by home he meant his apartment; while he had pretty much been staying at Cameron's, he wanted some space tonight), Cameron was sitting on the couch waiting for him. Damn it. He'd forgotten all about the spare key under the welcome mat.

He step-thumped past her towards the kitchen, hoping that she would just ignore him. No such luck. In a matter of seconds, he heard her heels click clacking on the wood floors, following him into the kitchen, where he was in search for some more vodka.

"You want to tell me what's wrong?" Cameron asked gently. She was using her caring voice that was normally saved for dying patients.

"No." House answered, hoping that answer would be enough to make her go away. The last thing he needed right now was human contact. All he wanted was to get drunk enough to pass out until Christmas. Or maybe even New Years.

"Come on. Just tell me. Whatever it is, we can work it out," she said softly. Damn it. Her soft voice was making him melt. But he held onto his resolve to stay mum.

"Don't think so." He step-thumped back into the living room, bottle of vodka in hand.

"Look, I can't just let this go." She argued. "I get it if you wouldn't want to tell anyone else. But I'm your girlfriend." She said with puppy dog eyes. "You can't keep things from me." She squeezed his hand. "We're in this together."

Fuck. She was really laying on the charm, and House was starting to fall for it. But he reminded himself that if he told her, all hell would break loose.

"Just go away." He muttered, taking a big swig from the bottle.

He could see the hurt flash in her green eyes for just a moment, but it was quickly replaced with steeled determination.

"You chose to tell me about your daughter." She began, but was cut off by House.

"I didn't _choose_." He snapped. "You basically forced it out of me. There's a difference." Another big swig from the bottle.

"That was only because you practically made me tell you my secret." She argued back. House could feel her anger increasing. "What's the big deal anyway? You know that I can keep a secret."

"It's not about that." House muttered.

"Well what is it about then? Is it about us? Did Cuddy say something? I thought she was ok with it. Or was it Chase? Your daughter? Something happen with her? Whatever it is you can tell me." She pleaded. Cameron hated this side of House, this furtiveness. When she's started dating House she'd known that eventually this would happen, but she hadn't imagined that it would be this bad. Especially after they'd promised to tell each other everything.

"Fine. You really want to know?" House knew that where this was headed would be bad, but he couldn't stop the words from flowing out of his mouth. If she really wanted to know, then to hell with trying to protect her from the truth.

"Yes!" Cameron said, frustrated. "Why is it so bad that you can't tell me?

"Because I'm your fucking father, that's why!" House screamed.

**Author's note: So, there it is. The twist. Please review! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: How many times do I have to tell you that I don't own House MD? **

Chapter 16

Silence. It's a pretty weird thing, if you think about it. Sometimes, it's the most beautiful sound in the world, especially after an annoying person (Cuddy!) is talking. Other times, it's the worst and ugliest sound in the world. It's ominous and threatening.

The silence that was encompassing House's apartment was, at least to House, both the most beautiful and the most awful sound he had ever heard in his life. On one hand, it was a relief to have some quiet to be able to straighten out the swirling thoughts in his mind that had haunted him all day. On the other hand, this was surely the calm before the storm. Once the news sunk into Cameron's mind, well, the screaming match would begin.

"What?" Cameron said breathlessly. The silence was broken. "What are you talking about?"

"Me. I'm your father; you're my daughter, my offspring, we share DNA, etc." House said.

"No." She shook her head. "It can't be true."

"It is." House said in a broken voice. He looked resigned. "I had Lucas double check. Triple check even."

"No!" Cameron stood up. "No no no no no! No!" She looked quite mad; she was clutching at her hair and her eyes were wide and frightened.

"Yes."

"NO!"

"Why don't you believe me?" House snapped, suddenly angry. "I wouldn't lie about this."

"Because if it's true then it means I slept with my fucking father!" Cameron screamed. House was stunned into silence. He'd known this all day, but had chosen to disregard it. Voicing the truth made it sound so real.

"You think I don't know this? You think that I didn't spend all day obsessing over that fact?" House said "You think I didn't ask Lucas, beg even, for him to say that he was just kidding? You think I asked for this to happen?" He started pacing around his apartment. "The one thing in my life that was going ok. The one thing! Ruined! By me!" He turned and smashed the bottle into the wall.

Cameron stared at him, feeling sick and exhausted. Suddenly, the apartment seemed cramped. Very cramped. House-her _father's_ presence seemed to pollute the air.

"I have to go." She muttered, grabbing her purse and coat.

House watched as she click-clacked towards the door. He knew that she would never be back. That this would be the last time he'd ever see her. His _daughter_. But it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. Life as he knew it was over.

**Author's note: Another shorter chapter, obv. Don't whine. It's not attractive. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's note: Last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Don't be an idiot. You know I don't own House MD. **

Chapter 17

Cameron sank against the cool brick wall outside House's apartment. She felt nauseous and dizzy. How could she have let this happen? She was Allison Cameron. Little Miss Perfect (at least on the outside). After her life as Emma Dumont had ended, she'd vowed to never let her life become screwed up again. And from then on, she'd fought hard to create the perfect life for herself. Getting her GED while working three jobs and living in various shelters. Managing to get into UPenn and later med school. Getting into the most prestigious fellowship with a world renowned doctor on the East Coast.

She should have figured it out long ago. After moving to Chicago and changing her name, she learned to read people and promised herself that she'd never be duped again. And for a long time she'd prided herself on the fact that she could figure anything out.

Clearly she was wrong. About her relationships, her life, her job, and even herself. There were so many signs that House was her father. It was so obvious it made her sick all over again. Their similar builds, hair colors, their tendency to close themselves off from the world, and their ability to figure things out quicker than the rest of the team. And the fact that House's daughter had been dropped off at Tender Hugs on May 17, 1981 just 2 days after her birthday. It would have taken about 2 days to drive to Ohio from Jersey.

And how Tender Hugs had seemed so familiar that day they'd visited it. It wasn't because all orphanages looked the same. It was because she'd fucking _lived_ there before. And House's whole story about his daughter. It practically fit _her_ story like a glove. It was almost ridiculous that it taken them this long to figure it out. Maybe House wasn't as smart as he seemed. The irony of it made her laugh.

House. Had he known this from the start? It wouldn't surprise her if he did. Hell, he'd had Lucas search up all pertinent info on all prospective employees before they were hired. He'd probably figured it out before she was hired, and then hired her just for fun. Just as a way to spy on his daughter.

But then why did he kiss her? He should have known that it would be incest. Incest. That really was a funny word. Incest. Cameron laughed out loud at that. People stared at her as they walked past. She supposed that she really did look crazy. Sitting outside in the middle of the night, hair all messed up, and laughing to herself. Insane.

_It was just a game_. Cameron decided. _A sick, nasty, twisted game._ A game that ruined her life.

There was only one thing to do, and that was to get the hell out of here. Not just out of House's apartment complex. But out of Princeton, New Jersey. For good. She had to put as much distance as she good between her and her father as possible. She'd lived 31 years without parents, so she could live 1000 more without them. It would hurt like hell, but it was the only thing to do.

* * *

Cameron zipped up her last suitcase and looked around her empty apartment with a sad smile. It looked very depressing now that all of her belongings were packed up in various boxes around the living room. Being a foster kid that traveled around a lot, she didn't own very many things. In fact, most of her furniture was rented, leaving her two suitcases and duffel full of things that she would take on the plane to Seattle.

Seattle. Perpetually rainy and gloomy. The perfect place to start her new, anonymous life. Where no one would know her twisted history.

She walked over to the fireplace, where a lone picture remained. It had been taken the day after the team was hired. Her, Foreman, Chase, and House. They were really the best coworkers she'd ever had. She already missed their easy, comfortable banter. They'd treated her better than any of the foster brothers she'd had.

House. She stared at his face, so eerily similar to hers. How had she missed that? It was all about what the mind wanted to see. And for the longest time, she'd seen nothing but her sarcastic, smart, son of a bitch boss that she'd fallen in love with. Her father. She had to keep reminding herself of that fact. It was sad, really. That the only person she'd ever loved was her father. Fate had a twisted sense of humor.

She heard a car pull up. The taxi was here. Ugh. Just thinking of a taxi was making her sick to her stomach. Not a good idea to travel when she'd been nauseous ever since last night. But she couldn't afford to wait. Foreman and Chase could come banging down her door at any minute, demanding to know why she'd resigned so abruptly.

Cameron pulled out something from the bag, something that she'd picked up at a drugstore last night before heading home. Although it would probably be negative, it wouldn't hurt to use it. At the very least it would give her peace of mind.

She headed to the bathroom and quickly used the toilet. Waited the required 3 min. Stared down at the object in her hand. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the positive sign, glaring up at her, and then hitting the ground.

**Author's note: I can't believe this is the end of Happily Never After. Before you freak, there's a sequel coming soon, called Falling from Cloud 9.**


	18. Author's Note: Very Important Must Read

**Author's note**

Yes, Happily Never After is over, but this is just to tell those of you who don't read my lovely Author's Notes at the end of each chapter that there will be a sequel to Happily Never After coming soon, called Falling From Cloud 9


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